I was born and raised in Minnesota. Parents made sure we went to church every Sunday. But it was quite boring. I don’t know if that was the fault of the church or my own. Probably both. I was a product of the 70’s and 80’s. Music was everything to me. Hard rock was my food until I reached driving age. That’s when I made more friends and realized that not everyone enjoyed dark and despairing heavy metal rock - especially girls. That tamed me a little. I became a Christian in 1984 and entered Bible College training. I went into professional full-time youth ministry in 1989 and worked in a half dozen churches and/or Christian organizations until 2003. Always had a knack for English Lit. Began writing short stories when I was around 5 years old. 

Upon entering Bible College, they want you to read books. Lots of books. Lots and lots of thick, heady theological books. Some of these books weighed more than my dumbbell set. So I just put my dumbbells in storage and lifted the books up and down as I read, saving me countless hours of precious college time.

In terms of this book, certainly my life experiences contributed greatly. The experiences I had in various Christian organizations was a big part of who I am and what I believe. I think God uses life experiences (school of hard knocks) to teach us many of the most important life lessons. I was compelled to write the book because of my deep concerns about where we are headed as Christians.

Some of my faves are as follows: C.S. Lewis, J.R. Tolkien, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Philip Yancey, Rob Bell, Chuck Swindoll, A. W. Tozer, Henri Nouwen, Sheila Walsh, Henry Blackaby, John Piper, John MacArthur and others. There are always others.